Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes one member of Mikel Arteta’s squad is the most improved player in the Premier League.
Virtually every player at the Emirates has gone up a level this season to help the Gunners open up a five-point gap at the top of the table.
Arsenal have enjoyed their best-ever start to a league campaign – winning 12 of their 14 games – to move five points clear of defending champions Manchester City.
One of Arsenal’s most important players this season has been Granit Xhaka and Wright has hailed him as the most improved player in the Premier League.
Xhaka’s Arsenal career appeared all but over when he clashed with his own fans during a Premier League match in 2019, but the Switzerland international has enjoyed a sensational revival under Arteta.
The 30-year-old has started all 14 of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season and proved to be a dependable figure in midfield, often dictating play and popping up with crucial goals.
Asked to name the most improved player in the English top-flight, Wright said on The Kelly and Wright Show: ‘I’ve got Xhaka. I think Xhaka, what he’s done, now he’s playing further up in the field.
‘All the managers at Arsenal have always had certain faith in him. But he’s been playing further back where it doesn’t suit him.
‘Now we’re seeing him up front, more in that area where he can create and do what he does for Switzerland. It’s got to be Xhaka for me.’
Wright also explained why he still ‘worried’ despite Arsenal boasting a five-point lead in the title race going into the World Cup.
He added: ‘If I am Man City, I will sit back and say “okay, Arsenal are the runners with us now”. We know that Man City can put the pressure. The pressure can come off Man City and they can relax and start playing.
‘At the same time, of course, I would love for them to finish it off, but it’s going to be tough. I think they learnt a lot from last season, especially the run-in and that will stand them in good stead.
‘I think it’s better to chase because you haven’t got anywhere else to go. You just have to keep winning that next one. If you are drawing, then you are hoping they lose.
‘When you are chasing, you get the momentum of chasing. You get closer and closer and that would then start to make them feel “Oh my gosh, where is the lead now?”
‘This is why I am worried with Arsenal with the five points. They just think of the next game and, hopefully, if Man City lose and they win again, then they can get that cushion because, at some stage, they will come up against some problems.’
Due to the winter World Cup, Arsenal will definitely be top at Christmas. Arteta’s side resume their Premier League campaign on Boxing Day against West Ham.
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